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Spook Country

Bobby Chombo is a "producer" and an enigma. In his day job, Bobby is a troubleshooter for manufacturers of military navigation equipment. He refuses to sleep in the same place twice. He meets no one. Hollis Henry, an investigative journalist, has been told to find him.

Zero History

Hollis Henry worked for the global marketing magnate Hubertus Bigend once before. She never meant to repeat the experience. Milgrim is even more thoroughly owned by Bigend. He's worth owning for his useful gift of seeming to disappear in almost any setting. baked into bone, entirely experimental, to show for it. Garreth has a passion for extreme sports. Garreth isn't owned by Bigend at all.

All Tomorrow's Parties

Rydell is on his way back to near-future San Francisco. His job has him convinced that his career is going nowhere, but his friend Laney, phoning from Tokyo, says there's more interesting work for him in Northern California. And there is, although it will eventually involve his former girlfriend, a Taoist assassin, the secrets Laney has been hacking out of the depths of DatAmerica, the CEO of the PR firm that secretly runs the world and the apocalyptic technological transformation of, well, everything.

Neuromancer

Twenty years ago, it was as if someone turned on a light. The future blazed into existence with each deliberate word that William Gibson laid down. The winner of Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer didn't just explode onto the science fiction scene - it permeated into the collective consciousness, culture, science, and technology.Today, there is only one science fiction masterpiece to thank for the term "cyberpunk," for easing the way into the information age and Internet society.

The Peripheral

Where Flynne and her brother, Burton, live, jobs outside the drug business are rare. Fortunately, Burton has his veteran's benefits, for neural damage he suffered from implants during his time in the USMC's elite Haptic Recon force. Then one night Burton has to go out, but there's a job he's supposed to do - a job Flynne didn't know he had. Beta-testing part of a new game, he tells her.

Burning Chrome

William Gibson's dark visions of computer cowboys, bio-enhanced soldiers of fortune, and hi-tech lowlifes have won unprecedented praise. Included here are some of the most famous short fiction and novellas by the author of Count Zero and Neuromancer.

The Difference Engine

The Difference Engine is an alternate history novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. It is a prime example of the steampunk sub-genre; It posits a Victorian Britain in which great technological and social change has occurred after entrepreneurial inventor Charles Babbage succeeded in his ambition to build a mechanical computer called Engines. The fierce summer heat and pollution have driven the ruling class out of London and the resulting anarchy allows technology-hating Luddites to challenge the intellectual elite.

The Diamond Age

Neal Stephenson, "the hottest science fiction writer in America", takes science fiction to dazzling new levels. The Diamond Age is a stunning tale; set in 21st-century Shanghai, it is the story of what happens what a state-of-the-art interactive device falls into the hands of a street urchin named Nell. Her life, and the entire future of humanity, is about to be decoded and reprogrammed.

Snow Crash

Neal Stephenson is a blazing new force on the sci-fi scene. With the groundbreaking cyberpunk novel Snow Crash, he has "vaulted onto the literary stage." It weaves virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility - in short, it is the gigathriller of the information age.

Reamde

Richard Forthrast created T’Rain, a multibillion-dollar, massively multiplayer online role-playing game. But T’Rain’s success has also made it a target. Hackers have struck gold by unleashing REAMDE, a virus that encrypts all of a player’s electronic files and holds them for ransom. They have also unwittingly triggered a deadly war beyond the boundaries of the game’s virtual universe - and Richard is at ground zero.

Seveneves: A Novel

A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.

Accelerando

The Singularity. It is the era of the posthuman. Artificial intelligences have surpassed the limits of human intellect. Biotechnological beings have rendered people all but extinct. Molecular nanotechnology runs rampant, replicating and reprogramming at will. Contact with extraterrestrial life grows more imminent with each new day.

Presenting 12 breakthrough practices for bringing creativity into all human endeavors, The Art of Possibility is the dynamic product of an extraordinary partnership. The Art of Possibility combines Benjamin Zander's experience as conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and his talent as a teacher and communicator with psychotherapist Rosamund Stone Zander's genius for designing innovative paradigms for personal and professional fulfillment.

Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future

Today, not only is everything digital getting faster, cheaper, and smaller at an exponential rate, we also have the Internet. When these two revolutions - one in technology and the other in communications - joined, an explosive force was unleashed that changed the very nature of innovation. And with any change, we have seen many strategic blunders and extraordinary learning curves along the way.

In celebration of the week-long, once-in-a-decade rite of Apert, the fras and suurs prepare to venture outside the concent's gates - opening them wide at the same time to welcome the curious "extras" in. During his first Apert as a fra, Erasmus eagerly anticipates reconnecting with the landmarks and family he hasn't seen since he was "collected". But before the week is out, both the existence he abandoned and the one he embraced will stand poised on the perilous brink of cataclysmic change.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1

Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.

The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle

Internationally best-selling author of Last of the Amazons, Gates of Fire and Tides of War, Steven Pressfield delivers a guide to inspire and support those who struggle to express their creativity. Pressfield believes that “resistance” is the greatest enemy, and he offers many unique and helpful ways to overcome it.

Interface

In this now-classic thriller, he and fellow author J. Frederick George tell a shocking tale with an all-too plausible premise. There's no way William A. Cozzano can lose the upcoming presidential election. He's a likable midwestern governor with one insidious advantage - an advantage provided by a shadowy group of backers.

Normal: A Novel

There are two types of people who think professionally about the future: Foresight strategists are civil futurists who think about geoengineering and smart cities and ways to evade Our Coming Doom; strategic forecasters are spook futurists, who think about geopolitical upheaval and drone warfare and ways to prepare clients for Our Coming Doom. The former are paid by nonprofits and charities, the latter by global security groups and corporate think tanks.

Debt - Updated and Expanded: The First 5,000 Years

Here, anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom: He shows that before there was money, there was debt. For more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods - that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors.

James C. Samans says:"Transformative to the point of being revolutionary"

Quicksilver: Book One of The Baroque Cycle

In which Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and courageous Puritan, pursues knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe -- in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight.

Halting State

The year is 2012, and China, India, and the United States are waging an infowar for economic domination. With innocent gamers mere pawns in the hands of electronic intelligence agencies, programmer Jack Reed is tasked with ferreting out the plot of those who would gladly trade global turmoil for personal gain.

Publisher's Summary

Cayce Pollard is an expensive, spookily intuitive market-research consultant. In London on a job, she is offered a secret assignment: to investigate some intriguing snippets of video that have been appearing on the Internet. An entire subculture of people is obsessed with these bits of footage, and anybody who can create that kind of brand loyalty would be a gold mine for Cayce's client. But when her borrowed apartment is burgled and her computer hacked, she realizes there's more to this project than she had expected.

Still, Cayce is her father's daughter, and the danger makes her stubborn. Win Pollard, ex-security expert, probably ex-CIA, took a taxi in the direction of the World Trade Center on September 11 one year ago, and is presumed dead. Win taught Cayce a bit about the way agents work. She is still numb at his loss, and, as much for him as for any other reason, she refuses to give up this newly weird job, which will take her to Tokyo and on to Russia. With help and betrayal from equally unlikely quarters, Cayce will follow the trail of the mysterious film to its source, and in the process will learn something about her father's life and death.

What the Critics Say

"With incredibly evocative prose, Gibson masterfully captures the essence of a specific time and place and the often chaotic sense of disorientation experienced while globe hopping." (Booklist) "William Gibson's new novel is so good it defies all the usual superlatives." (Seattle Times) "Gibson's ability to hit the sweet spot of cutting-edge culture is uncanny." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) "Elegant, entrancing." (The New York Times Book Review)

William Gibson likes to say that all sci-fi is really about the present. His first three books (The "Sprawl Trilogy": Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive) are set in a fairly distant future of cyberspace, AI and wetware while his most recent trilogy (The "Bridge" Trilogy": Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties) describes a more recent future of enhanced reality, virtual pop stars and nanotech.

Pattern Recognition occurs in the post-911 world of cool hunting, googling and garage Kubricks where the "future is already here, just not evenly distributed." I really love this book which is full of subtle jokes and mindgames. I have bought multiple copies for friends who may have not found Gibson's earlier works as accessible.

I was very excited when the audio book was finally available (there was even a cool fan audio blog that covered the first couple chapters that was fun in the interim). The audible version is very well-done and it is fun to finally hear this wonderful book in Shelly Frasier's sultry "Cayce"-ish voice. I highly recommend this book and it audio counterpart.

I have been a William Gibson fan for many years and this book bears out my faith in Gibson as an author. This book is a great story of modern man and his obsession with what he or she thinks is "cool". A story that goes to three different countries and examines them throught a post-9/11 lens, it draws you in with the amazing details and descriptions as only Gibson can. Part spy novel, part analysis of modern marketing and branding theory, part modern cyberspace adventure, but all Gibson.

I found this Pattern Recognition a can't-put-it-down thriller that was delightful in many respects. The blend of technical saavy and intrigue was seemless and enthralling. The characters were vivid and drew me in to their story. The plot was full of twists and surprizes. It left me looking for more of Gibson's work. A must read.

Though Gibson is well known for his science fiction novel Neuromancer, this would fit into the superior thriller category. Gibson's language is up-to-date -- it's the first novel I've seen with "google" used as a verb. The main character is a sort of appealing aesthetic freak who makes her living scoping out the fashion trends and untrends to come. The book is beautifully read. I was particularly interested when the scene changes to Moscow, where I recently spent a few years. Gibson's portrayal is funny and accurate, though unless my ears misled me he refers to a character paying for a Metro ride with a token, and I never saw a token the whole time I was there, though I rode the Metro daily. They use cards now.
This book would particularly appeal to those who like books that reflect the language of today; another one in this vein is sci-fi author Neal Stephenson, who also has excellent books in Audible format.

While this was a fantastic book, I have to give recognition to Shelly Frasier. Her narration was perfectly matched to Cayce Pollards character; intelligent and engaging. I am listening to "Spook Country" and countless times I wish Ms. Frasier was reading it.

I find it fascinating how this book divides people. After listening to it, I can definitely see why many would label it boring. But it really goes to show you different reasons for reading certain books. If you are expecting a "beach read"-paced thriller, this is not the book for you. If you are interested in a lilting, introspective work which weaves a quiet spell of language and mystery, please give it a try. Somehow the combination of conspiracy, the contemporary setting, a poetic sensibility, and the narrators wonderfully soothing voice all blended to make this book beyond the sum of its parts. I loved it and miss it now that it is over.

I had no idea what this book would be about, but assumed it would be set in the not-too-distant future as many of his past works. But no, it is pretty much set in the present. But what a look! It was refreshing to read a story by a master of the language, one capable of evoking real emotion, subtle thought, and interesting plot twists together into an intriguing book. Of all the stories I've downloaded from Audible, this was one of the most enjoyable listens I've had.

Everything about this book I loved, the concepts and feelings that Case feels are real ones while the setting is fun and interesting. This is not a typical Gibson book, there is no cyberpunks here, just interesting characters in interesting situations.